6 ms·

People derive enjoyment from lotteries and scratch tickets. I agree that some people exhibit problematic behavior by spending some of their limited funds on the

People derive enjoyment from lotteries and scratch tickets. I agree that some people exhibit problematic behavior by spending some of their limited funds on these items but that is their right. I'd rather these entertainment sources be captured by the state for the good of all its people than administered privately or clandestinely.

CryptoPunk 7y ago
It would be better for them to derive their enjoyment from participating in an actual investment market. They'll learn something useful instead just refining their superstitious rituals. Imagine if anyone could buy $5 worth of stock for the product they're buying at 7-11. Over-time these small purchases would let them amass a sizeable base of assets, and all the while they'd have a stake in parts of the real economy, which would incentivize them to invest time in learning how it works. The educational value alone would be enormous. Instead we foolishly prohibit people from participating in many of the most lucrative sectors of the economy, which corrals them into low-value dead-end activities like playing the lottos. If you want someone to grow, you don't over-protect them. That applies to raising children, and it applies to governance of the public at large.
- xwolfi 7y ago
  But you do realize that without the lotto, they'll go to underground poker games, underground lotto games, or drink booze. The gvt lotto was not created before people played lottery, it was invented because people want to play chance games anyway and that's a great way to build roads at the same time.
  - CryptoPunk 7y ago
    Would they? If security issuance wasn't centralized through prohibitions on unregistered offerings, you don't think there would be a vibrant market for micro-cap companies, with extensive retail marketing in places like convenient stores, and with enough upside potential to take market share away from games of pure chance? I think the real market could be potentially more exciting than lottos, if regulations didn't prevent securities from being marketed the way lottos are. In a way, the token sale frenzy demonstrated that.
- icebraining 7y ago
  > Imagine if anyone could buy $5 worth of stock for the product they're buying at 7-11. Yeah, and in ten years they might get $14, which will just give some extra profit to their creditors when they file for bankruptcy for unpaid medical bills, or be captured in a civil forfeiture. And if somehow they managed to keep it and actually save a couple grand, that just means they'll become ineligible for SNAP and lose much more in benefits. People play the lottery because it represents something more than slaving yourself to make scraps. They are not stupid, and know the system is design to keep you poor, and that hoping to escape by amassing a few bucks is almost as delusional as expecting to win the lottery.
  - CryptoPunk 7y ago
    >>Yeah, and in ten years they might get $14, which will just give some extra profit to their creditors when they file for bankruptcy for unpaid medical bills, or be captured in a civil forfeiture. And if somehow they managed to keep it and actually save a couple grand, that just means they'll become ineligible for SNAP and lose much more in benefits. How is that any different than matching two numbers on a lotto ticket and winning $10, or $1000? With real-world investing, especially in micro-caps, they have a chance to hit it big as well, and make millions. So it has the same dream escapist aspect. And it provides a much more solid grounding for the future than throwing money in a game that you are mathematically guaranteed to lose if you play long enough. Investing is not a game of pure chance, and it is not zero sum. With enough skill, you can actually make money, and your skill can improve over time, and doing so actually improves how the economy as a whole allocates capital.
    - icebraining 7y ago
      > How is that any different than matching two numbers on a lotto ticket and winning $10, or $1000? That's immediately spendable; it doesn't sit somewhere where it can be taken (by illegal or legal means). That's also one of the reasons why people join susus instead of just saving, for example. > With real-world investing, especially in micro-caps, they have a chance to hit it big as well, and make millions. There's no change of making millions in a day, or week. The few "rags-to-riches" trading millionaires progressively amassed their money over at least a few years. But that means losing benefits, which people can't afford to risk. Like I said, the system is designed to keep them there, and they know it.

CryptoPunk 7y ago

It would be better for them to derive their enjoyment from participating in an actual investment market. They'll learn something useful instead just refining their superstitious rituals. Imagine if anyone could buy $5 worth of stock for the product they're buying at 7-11. Over-time these small purchases would let them amass a sizeable base of assets, and all the while they'd have a stake in parts of the real economy, which would incentivize them to invest time in learning how it works. The educational value alone would be enormous. Instead we foolishly prohibit people from participating in many of the most lucrative sectors of the economy, which corrals them into low-value dead-end activities like playing the lottos. If you want someone to grow, you don't over-protect them. That applies to raising children, and it applies to governance of the public at large.

xwolfi 7y ago
But you do realize that without the lotto, they'll go to underground poker games, underground lotto games, or drink booze. The gvt lotto was not created before people played lottery, it was invented because people want to play chance games anyway and that's a great way to build roads at the same time.
- CryptoPunk 7y ago
  Would they? If security issuance wasn't centralized through prohibitions on unregistered offerings, you don't think there would be a vibrant market for micro-cap companies, with extensive retail marketing in places like convenient stores, and with enough upside potential to take market share away from games of pure chance? I think the real market could be potentially more exciting than lottos, if regulations didn't prevent securities from being marketed the way lottos are. In a way, the token sale frenzy demonstrated that.
icebraining 7y ago
> Imagine if anyone could buy $5 worth of stock for the product they're buying at 7-11. Yeah, and in ten years they might get $14, which will just give some extra profit to their creditors when they file for bankruptcy for unpaid medical bills, or be captured in a civil forfeiture. And if somehow they managed to keep it and actually save a couple grand, that just means they'll become ineligible for SNAP and lose much more in benefits. People play the lottery because it represents something more than slaving yourself to make scraps. They are not stupid, and know the system is design to keep you poor, and that hoping to escape by amassing a few bucks is almost as delusional as expecting to win the lottery.
- CryptoPunk 7y ago
  >>Yeah, and in ten years they might get $14, which will just give some extra profit to their creditors when they file for bankruptcy for unpaid medical bills, or be captured in a civil forfeiture. And if somehow they managed to keep it and actually save a couple grand, that just means they'll become ineligible for SNAP and lose much more in benefits. How is that any different than matching two numbers on a lotto ticket and winning $10, or $1000? With real-world investing, especially in micro-caps, they have a chance to hit it big as well, and make millions. So it has the same dream escapist aspect. And it provides a much more solid grounding for the future than throwing money in a game that you are mathematically guaranteed to lose if you play long enough. Investing is not a game of pure chance, and it is not zero sum. With enough skill, you can actually make money, and your skill can improve over time, and doing so actually improves how the economy as a whole allocates capital.
  - icebraining 7y ago
    > How is that any different than matching two numbers on a lotto ticket and winning $10, or $1000? That's immediately spendable; it doesn't sit somewhere where it can be taken (by illegal or legal means). That's also one of the reasons why people join susus instead of just saving, for example. > With real-world investing, especially in micro-caps, they have a chance to hit it big as well, and make millions. There's no change of making millions in a day, or week. The few "rags-to-riches" trading millionaires progressively amassed their money over at least a few years. But that means losing benefits, which people can't afford to risk. Like I said, the system is designed to keep them there, and they know it.